Status of Andrew Brackman:
We've been positive. Obviously it's very important to us that he's on the team and he feels a part of that. Certainly we're going to have his name on the roster. We don't want him looking at it and realizing that it wasn't on there. It's something that we're working through right now.

Has he made a firm decision?
He has not. We've had a couple of conversations. We've discussed a lot of things and have had some good conversations. We're hoping for the best for everybody involved.

Are you flexible to allow less than full-time participation?
We've talked about something like that. What's even more important is that his teammates have accepted something like that. He's got a rare opportunity to play two sports on a very high level.

We don't want to do anything to jeopardize playing baseball, and we want to work with him the best that we can to make sure that he's involved in whichever way.

His teammates have been great about that. He has an opportunity that a lot of people don't get. He could possibly play Major League Baseball or NBA basketball. A kid that big, with his hands, his ability to face up and make shots, NBA teams are looking for that all the time. I think that's one of the reasons a lot of foreign big men are drafted. You don't have enough here that can do some of the things he can do. He's a rare breed with what he can do.

When do you think you will know his status for sure?That depends on Andrew. It's a big decision, and we don't want to put any pressure on him. We're not going to force it or put a timetable or anything.

Have you been re-recruiting him?He's been our first priority. We've been recruiting him like he's coming out of high school. We had five or six coaches go watch him pitch in Fayetteville... we were right there. A couple of coaches said if they could go down to Cuba and watch him they would have been there as well but they weren't letting us in at that time.

It was just like recruiting because it was that important to us. He's the most important piece right now.

More thoughts on Brackman:
We're not going to allow anything to get in the way of him playing baseball. We're going to make some concessions for him. One, we care about his career in both sports and two, we need him on our basketball team. Hopefully he understands that is how important he is to us.

Not so much myself, but his teammates are saying he can do whatever he can do... we just want him in that jersey. That speaks volumes. You can have selfish athletes at times, but these guys are saying he's a part of our team./. let him do what he's got to do.

Thoughts on Bartosz Lewandowski:
Right now I don't know his role. The reason I say that is I don't want to put a limit on him. He's got great size. I saw a little film and he can face up and shoot the basketball. He can protect that rim. There's always time and room for someone like that.

In talking with him, he seems to be a pretty good competitor. He really wants to be the best. I don't want to put any limits on him right now, but I do think at some point in time he's going to be a major piece. He's going to help us out.

Thoughts on Farnold Degand:Very talented player... quick, he can really get up-and-down the floor. Excellent passer... excellent passer. When he's ready to go, I think you guys are going to be happy. You will be pleasantly surprised if you haven't seen him before. He's actually a pretty good player.

Do you see him as a point guard or shooting guard?
He can play both. He can get the ball and run the point but he's got pretty good size. He can play the one and two.

Is Brackman now closer to 7-feet than 6-10?
He really is. He is. He looks great. He looks like a basketball player.

Thoughts on schedule:I think it's a good schedule. I think it's an opportunity for us. You've got Cincinnati, Alabama, Michigan, West Virginia. We've got some very tough nonconference games, but I think it's a great opportunity for our guys. We get to see where we are.

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